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the13thduke · 5 years

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Best Rap 2018

This year has been probably the most packed year of all time in terms of the sheer volume of decent rap releases. Due to the huge quantity of releases it’s easy to miss out on a lot of great music and get lost in the mix. With that in mind, I wanted to create a long list that can be bookmarked and returned to for those who slept.

I could have easily created a top 300 and still felt bad about leaving a few good albums out. That said, I've managed to cut it down to a slightly more definitive (but hardly concise) top 150 so this doesn't read like too much of a phone book.

As in previous years, ‘Rap’ is on the banner, but the list is made up of hip-hop, UK road rap, grime, and anything that can adequately be categorised as a rap sub-genre in my mind.

Finally, as usual, don’t get too hung up on the order. The top albums are at the top and the still-quality-but-not-quite-elite albums are towards the lower end, but there’s no use getting too hung up about what appears as, say, my 57th and 61st favourite albums. This is designed and published primarily for myself to look back on in years to come and reflect on the year, but also for anyone who reads it to see it as recommended listening that should keep you very busy.

I would write a blurb for each and every album to explain why I love them, but no-one would pay me and my time is valuable, so instead I’ve linked each album to their Spotify stream…Enjoy, and feel free to let me know if I've missed anything!

Here’s my top 150 rap albums of 2018. Happy new year!

CHILDREN OF ZEUS — Travel Light

GHETTS — Ghetto Gospel: The New Testament

RAE SREMMURD — SR3MM

NOVELIST — Novelist Guy

BARNEY ARTIST — Home is Where The Art Is

EVIDENCE — Weather or Not

OCEAN WISDOM — Wizville

PHONTE — No News is Good News

ROC MARCIANO — RR2: The Bitter Dose / Behold A Dark Horse / KAOS (with DJ Muggs)

PUSHA T — DAYTONA

FREDDIE GIBBS — Freddie / Fetti (with Alchemist & Curren$y)

MAXSTA — Maxtape 2

BENNY — Tana Talk 3 / A Friend of Ours

ARMAND HAMMER — Paraffin

DJ MUGGS — Soul Asssassins: Dia del Asesinato

HERMIT & THE RECLUSE — Orpheus vs The Sirens

MANGA ST. HILAIRE — Outsiders Live Forever

MASTA ACE & MARCO POLO — A Breukelen Story

WESTSIDE GUNN — Supreme Blientele

SABA — Care For Me

DABRYE — Three/Three

D DOUBLE E — Jackuum

KOOL G RAP & 38 SPESH — Son of G Rap

LOJII — lofeye

SLOWTHAI — RUNT

TRAE THA TRUTH — Hometown Hero / 48 Hours Later

JPEGMAFIA — Veteran

JAM BAXTER — Touching Scenes

JERICHO JACKSON (KHRYSIS & ELZHI) — Jericho Jackson

ANKHLEJOHN — The Red Room / Van Ghost / The Yellow House / Ankh Nasty

OCTAVIAN — Spaceman

NONAME — Room 25

ELCAMINO — Elcamino / Walk on Water

JEAN GRAE & QUELLE CHRIS — Everything’s Fine

SHOWBIZ — A-Room Therapy

MILO — budding ornithologists are weary of tired analogies

KEY & KENNY BEATS — 777

SHIRT — Pure Beauty

PLAYBOI CARTI — Die Lit

THA GOD FAHIM — Dump Gawd: Dream Killer / Breaking Through The Van Allen Belts (with C-Lance) / Dump Truck: Think Again / Dumpacolypse Now (with Left Lane Didon) etc etc (stop dropping so much Fahim!)

2U4U — Butter

NIPSEY HUSSLE — Victory Lap

TROUBLE & MIKE-WILL-MADE-IT — Edgewood

21 SAVAGE — I am > I was

TRAVIS SCOTT — ASTROWORLD

FLATBUSH ZOMBIES — Vacation in Hell

MOZZY — Gangland Landlord / Spiritual Conversations

WORLD’S FAIR — New Low

FOREIGN BEGGARS — 2 2 Karma

KIDS SEE GHOSTS — KIDS SEE GHOSTS

ROYCE DA 5'9" — The Book of Ryan

JAY ROCK — Redemption

RAWKID — Grum, Vol. 1

FRISCO — Back 2 Da Lab Vol. 5

MEYHEM LAUREN — Glass

APATHY — Widow’s Son

SUSPECT — Still Loading

CHIP — Ten10

MAXO KREAM — Punkem

BEATKING & GANGSTA BOO — Underground Cassette Tape Music, Vol. 2

SWIZZ BEATZ — POISON

LANDO CHILL — Black Ego

BLACK MILK — FEVER

B-MOVIE MILLIONAIRES — Attack of the 50,000ft Sweg Lawds from Outer Space

808INK — When I’m About You’ll Know Vols 1–2

YOUNG THUG — On The Rvn / Slime Language compilation

SCALLOPS HOTEL — sovereign nose of (y)our arrogant face

TY — A Work of Heart

DENZEL CURRY — TA13OO

CONWAY & SONNYJIM — Death by Misadventure

PAYROLL GIOVANNI & CARDO — Big Bossin Vol. 2

CHUCK STRANGERS — Consumers Park

LIL WAYNE — Tha Carter V

HOMEBOY SANDMAN & EDAN — Humble Pi

VINCE STAPLES — FM!

WILLIE THE KID — Gold Rush (with Klever Skemes) / Things of that Nature / Midwest Willie 2 / Gold Rush 2

EARL SWEATSHIRT — Some Rap Songs

RICH HOMIE QUAN — Rich As In Spirit

ROME STREETZ — Streetz Keep Calling Me / Street Farmacy (with Farma Beats)

CRIMEAPPLE — Aguardiente

MICK JENKINS — Pieces of a Man

MICALL PARKNSUN & MR THING — Finish What We Started

DIRTY DIKE — Acrylic Snail

SMOOVTH & GIALLO POINT — Medellin II: Don Fabio

DJ JAZZY JEFF — M3

FLY ANAKIN & OHBLIV — Backyard Boogie

AWON & PHONIKS — The Actual Proof

J COLE — K.O.D

CARDI B — Invasion of Privacy

MIKE — Black Soap / Renaissance Man / War In My Pen

TRIPPIE REDD — Life’s A Trip / A Love Letter To You 3

BUSU — Deadbeat Boyfriend Diaries

COOPS — No Brainer / Life In The Flesh

CHESTER WATSON — Project 0

NOSTRUM GROCERS — Nostrum Grocers

SKYZOO — In Celebration of Us

PRHYME — PRhyme 2

MAC MILLER — Swimming

38 SPESH & BENNY — Stabbed & Shot

DA FLYYY HOOLIGAN — Roman Abramovich

WILEY — Godfather II

GUNNA & LIL BABY — Drip Harder

HENRY CANYONS — Cool Side of the Pillow

MARLOWE — Marlowe

OC — A New Dawn

CUT CHEMIST — Die Cut

V DON — This Thing of Ours (with Adonis) / Bone Collector

BISHOP NEHRU — Elevators: Act I & II

TY FARRIS — No Co-Sign, Just Cocaine Vols 1–2

JOSMAN — 000$

THERMAN MUNSIN — Sabbath (with Roc Marciano)

AWTHENTIK — Nothing More Nothing Less

FLEE LORD — I Want Out / Loyalty or Death: Lord Talk 2

DJ SKIZZ — High Powered

PAC DIV — 1st Baptist

JAMMER — Are You Dumb? Vol. 5

BLACK THOUGHT — Streams of Thought Vol. 1–2

BIG TWINS — Grimey Life

D-BLOCK EUROPE & YXNG BANE — Any Minute Now

ONE ACEN — SexyOddRose

SMOKE BOYS — Don’t Panic II

BUGZY MALONE — B.Inspired

BISK — Aural FM

FREDO — Tables Turn

NINES — Crop Circle

NOT3S — Take Not3s II

YXNG BANE — HBK

SKENGDO x AM — Greener on the Other Side

YFN LUCCI — Ray Ray from Summerhill

HUSALAH — H

BUDDY — Harlan & Alondra

SHECK WES — MUDBOY

STARLITO — At WAR With Myself Too

COZZ — Effected

JID — DiCaprio 2

RICH BRIAN — Amen

SNOOP DOGG — 220

MIGOS — Culture II

COOL OUT SUN — Cool Out Sun

ROBB BANK$ — Molly World

CYPRESS HILL — Elephants on Acid

VIC SPENCER & SONNYJIM— Spencer for Hire

KILLA KYLEON — Candy Paint N Texas Plates

REASON — There You Have It

APOLLO BROWN & LOCKSMITH — No Question / APOLLO BROWN & JOELL ORTIZ — Mona Lisa

ICYTWAT — Dream Bwoy

IVY SOLE — Overgrown

SMINO — NOIR

KIRK KNIGHT — IIWII

JAY PRINCE — Cherish

#2018 #rap #hip hop #end of year lists #best of

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the13thduke · 5 years

Photo

Pusha T. Warehouse Project, Manchester, Saturday 8th December 2018. https://www.instagram.com/p/BrKgXYTAe4Y/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=a355cl63to3s

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the13thduke · 5 years

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Skengdo x AM, Warehouse Project, Manchester, Saturday 8th December 2018. https://www.instagram.com/p/BrKgFMlAtAG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1o72lsftm7il9

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the13thduke · 5 years

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Morning https://www.instagram.com/p/BrKfwrzA-iR/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=sy9vucz017gc

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the13thduke · 5 years

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Zeal & Ardor, Church, Leeds, Thursday 6th December 2018. https://www.instagram.com/p/BrEB7bFgbRf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17fh6z3cext7m

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the13thduke · 5 years

Photo

Jamie Isaac, Headrow House, Leeds, Saturday 24th November 2018. (at Headrow House) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqlmC0ygtQL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1k50gt0hz64u

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the13thduke · 5 years

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JMSN, Headrow House, Leeds, Tuesday 20th November 2018. (at Headrow House) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqbAZYmA3Q-/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1igt13c0jvw4

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the13thduke · 5 years

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Leon Bridges, O2 Academy Leeds, Thursday 15th November 2018. https://www.instagram.com/p/BqO9i9Mgk4N/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=nqvhciseui22

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the13thduke · 5 years

Photo

Kamaal Williams, Belgrave Music Hall, Wednesday 7th November 2018 (at Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp5h9RLAQJy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=odog2quhfba4

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the13thduke · 6 years

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Barney Artist, Headrow House, Leeds, Saturday 13th October 2018. (at Headrow House) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo4_DanAdyg/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1j04obts0f6gr

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the13thduke · 6 years

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Barney Artist is a wonderful man. (at Headrow House) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo4-8TsgXTj/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1f6ustuzdel5t

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the13thduke · 6 years

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Deafheaven, Stylus, Leeds, Wednesday 3rd October 2018. (at University of Leeds) https://www.instagram.com/p/BofLbkZFDgA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=f8w5y7qbznid

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the13thduke · 6 years

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I met Murs! (at Headrow House) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn16lW3AwG1/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rg17jaiwj3n1

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the13thduke · 6 years

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Janelle Monae, Manchester Academy 2, Manchester, Monday 10th September 2018. (at Manchester Academy) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnkAzhLgmj2/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=149bt3nm6vkzv

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the13thduke · 6 years

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Janelle Monae, Manchester Academy 2, Manchester, Monday 10th September 2018 (at Manchester Academy) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnkAf64gHih/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1on79sx24c0r8

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the13thduke · 6 years

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Some orchestral Daft Punk ting, Canal Mills, Leeds, Thursday 16th August 2018. (at Canal Mills)

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the13thduke · 6 years

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Bishop Nehru, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, Tuesday 7th August 2018. (at Brudenell Social Club)

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